Destruction by Puzzle
by samasim
Summary: /No romance/Not all the shadows of the Puzzle are under Yami no Yuugi's command. Some want freedom, and the most dangerous, most rebellious have become dangerously attracted to his partner's pure soul..


Summary:

/No Romance/Not all the shadows of the Puzzle are under Yami no Yuugi's command. Some want freedom, and the most dangerous, most rebellious have become dangerously attracted to his partner's light.

Rating: K

IIIIIIIIII

Author's Note:

My very first YGO fanfic. Seriously, I think this series would have been awesome if the authors and animators had focused _more_ on the story and character development and _less_ on them CARD GAMES!

If it were so, there wouldn't be so many weird plotholes and...confusion. You know how much of that there is in this seriesXD.

/Speech/ - Mindlink

_Speech_– A Thought to Oneself

_"Speech"_ – Ancient Egyptian

"Speech" – Japanese

To avoid any confusion, bear in mind that there is a difference between _mindlink_ and _presence_. The mindlink is the channel through which Yuugi and Yami can communicate words, thoughts and emotion. It can be blocked or broken without it meaning that one of them is gone. However, presence refers to their very existence in each other's mind.

This story takes place after Battle City and before the Doma arc.

IIIIIIIIII

The corridors of his Soul Room stretched everywhere beyond his sight, but Yami no Yuugi had gotten used to roaming the endlessly-twisting maze that mirrored his own confused soul. Days could pass by as he travelled his Soul Room, communicating with his soul partner only through the distant-but-still-strong mindlink, and he still wouldn't be any closer to finding out who he truly was.

And he had long accepted the fact that his Room changed beyond recognition on a daily basis, forever eluding him his deeply buried identity.

He moved with a careful but practiced stride, used to the surprises the stairways and rooms of his soul's labyrinth threw at whoever tried to access them.

But it was his Soul Room - and nothing of permanent damage could ever befall him by that which was the very representation of his soul. Not even the Shadows, for he was their master.

The Master of the Shadows and their Games.

That night, he had delved quite deep into the labyrinth, deeper than he remembered ever going. Thick, oily vines of Shadow Magic would creep lazily up his legs through the crevices in the floor, only to be ripped off as he strode purposefully forward, unfazed in his own territory, and comforted by the warm, soothing presence of his light somewhere back on the opposite side of the main entrance to his Soul Room.

How long has it been since he had checked on his partner? He paused for a moment, and reached with his mind.

/That's a corner..soo you go here...this..aside for now..and this...yeah, a part of the green background here...hmm../

Yuugi was working on a puzzle on his bedroom floor, while Yami was here trying to solve his own soul's. His face softened. A small smile graced his lips.

_We're truly two halves of the same being..Aibou._

As if he sensed his darkness's attention turn to him, Yuugi paused, a puzzle piece still in his hand./Mou Hitori no Boku?/ the gentle warmth reached Yami with the simple words.

/Aibou./

/You've been away for almost a week now! Is everything alright? Did you find something meaningful?/

/Aa. I'm still searching for my Memory Room, but I still am no closer to finding it./

Disappointment came from Yuugi through the link. /Mou Hitori no Boku../

As expected of a typical yami, who are normally very sensitive to any negative feelings coming from their hikaris, Yami rushed to assure: /Don't worry, Aibou. I will be back soon - maybe in 1 day or 2 at most./

/Get back safe, my other self..ok?/

Yami sent a mental nudge, comforting and affectionate.

Deciding he'll search a little more before starting his trail back, he moved on for a while. He came at a right turn and took it, and found himself suddenly in a pitch-black corridor.

Over a thin invisible line, temperature seemed to drop 20 degrees. An unexplainable, dark emptiness seemed to call to him from the dark depths without words.

Yami felt his heartbeat quicken. He'd never been to this part of the Puzzle before. Hesitating for only a moment, he delved into the darkened path, eagerness overcoming apprehension, the pull of whatever was wordlessly calling to him too curious to resist.

Back in his bedroom, Yuugi was still working on his puzzle, almost finished with it. He picked up a piece to add to his near-finished picture when a sudden, familiar feeling gripped him. Dropping the piece, his hands reflexively went to his Puzzle. The experience with Bandit Keith, the fire and how close he was to losing his other half forever replayed itself in his mind's eye.

/Mou Hitori no Boku?/ he asked fearfully.

No answer.

Forgetting his unfinished puzzle altogether, he sat up straight and gripped the Puzzle around his neck tightly in his hands, bringing it close to his face.

/Mou Hitori no Boku! Can you hear me?/

He could still access their shared mindlink to communicate, but it was weak, growing further and further away rapidly.

/Mou Hitori no Boku! What's going on?/he called, very afraid now. Gripping the Puzzle so tight the corners dug painfully into his hands, he sent his fearful enquiry as hard as he could.

IIIIIIIIII

Yami stopped, suddenly worried.

So focused he was on following the wordless, unexplainable calling to him, and getting quite used to the sheer cold of the place enveloping him, he failed to notice the weakening mindlink until he felt a sudden burst of distress from his partner.

/Aibou! Are you alright?/

Yuugi's reply didn't arrive immediately. Yami was about to call again when he received it, faint and distant.

/Mou Hitori no Boku!/he could sense both relief and worry in his partner's words /Where are you? I can barely feel our link!/

Something moved out of the corner of Yami's eye. He whipped around, but whatever it was, it had disappeared perfectly into the blackness.

/_Mou_ _Hitori_ _no_ _Boku_!/Yuugi cried. He could sense his Yami's apprehension and confusion, and the delayed reply didn't help ease his fear.

/It's alright, Aibou. I think I am very far into my Soul Room. That's why our link is weak./

Brief delay, and then:/The link can't weaken as long as I'm wearing the Puzzle, Mou Hitori no Boku! Get out of wherever you are!/

/I've found a new part of my Soul Room we've never seen, Aibou, and I think it contains something about my past. I can feel it./

After the communication delay came Yuugi's firm disbelief:/I don't like this at all, my other self. I have a bad feeling in my heart about this. Come back now. Please!/

Yami hesitated. Should he assure his light everything was fine and go on searching this place, or should he lay his fears to rest and go back?

He didn't have time to answer. In one swift movement, shadows had shot up from the black floor and enveloped his body like the coils of a snake, binding him, covering his face, his eyes, his mouth. He was pulled to the cold floor with a thud and dragged down the corridor at alarming speed.

The mindlink broke, and he could hear the faint echo of his hikari's terrified cry in his head before that too, was enveloped in shadow.

IIIIIIIIII

Yami gradually came back to awareness when he felt something oily move across his face and neck. He instinctively turned his head away slightly, but it didn't help him escape the uncomfortable touch of whatever was stroking his skin. He grunted, his eyebrows furrowed against the offending.

_"Wake up, Master of Shadow Games."_

He shook his head, as if to dismiss the voice. His head felt heavy. The oily substance seemed to stuff itself into every crevice in his head. It slithered through his ears, it weighed down on his brain, it stretched behind his eyes. Then...a disturbing feeling of shuffling, and peering into memories made ever since he was freed by his lighter half from his Puzzle prison.

_"This-! This is your other half, is it not? The one that escaped imprisonment by this...Item?"_

Semething about the voice's eager enquiry about his light struck a chord in Yami despite his near-unconscious state. He lifted his head with difficulty. Too _heavy_...

_"That's it, Shadow Master..Yes..open your eyes. Look at us. Look at who you have been sharing your prison with.__**Look at who you've caused unimaginable suffering**__!"_

Yami's forced his eyes open.

His arms were shackled up against the cold wall of a pitch-black chamber. Or at least, it _seemed_ to be pitch-black. The unfamiliar presence in his mind was affecting his sight, but as his mind began to clear, he realized that the feeling of his mind and heart being violated was no hallucination.

_Get OUT of my head!_

He started thrashing, blind to his surroundings, and Shadow Magic faithfully started forming at his hands, ready to pass judgement on whoever went against its Master's wishes.

The foreign presence retreated from his mind at the threat, and his vision finally started to clear as it did.

He found himself surrounded by a group of shadowy human outlines in a chamber dimly lit by a single ancient torch on the wall far back. The light - being behind them, made their faces un-seeable in the darkness.

He raised his head."Who are you?" he growled.

The shadows moved in closer, as one. As they neared, Yami's realized with a pang of horror that their faces weren't merely hidden in the darkness.

They had _no_ faces.

They only had whites for eyes where their faces normally would be.

_No. These are no humans!_ he thought, revolted.

They were only cruel twists of the real thing. The glowing eyes on their featureless faces stared unblinkingly at him. Their limbs were disproportionate, and some seemed to come out from the wrong places in their pitch-black 'bodies'. Some were so disfigured they dragged themselves along the chamber floor to reach him.

"I said: _who are you_?" he commanded, his proud regal voice betraying nothing of his inner shock.

One particularly tall shadow stopped right in front of him, its pupiless white eyes boring into Yami's own crimson. The others all stood still, waiting.

_"We are the human sacrifices."_ it said in a low, grated voice. The words sounded like they were spoken by an invisible, badly twisted throat, and they were spoken in Ancient Egyptian.

Yami's stared back in disbelief. _"What do you mean by human sacrifices?"_ he spoke the words in the ancient language without even realizing it.

The shadow's eyes narrowed._"The humans sacrificed to create these Millennium Items. The innocent villagers dragged into this sinful crime of kings desperate to stay in power."_

Behind it, the shadows hissed and spat. Their leader went on _"This is what we have become...after our souls were stolen to create the Items so coveted by the likes of you and your other half. We've become abominations. Neither humans, nor Shadows. Only us 70 still remember we used to be humans."_

The other shadows' unintelligible voices kept rising in their anger, their eyes glowing eerily bright.

_"We can no longer remember who we used to be, or what we were like...but one thing none of us could forget..._"

Yami suppressed a shudder, a sense of foreboding in his heart.

_"The Pharaoh did this."_

Yami remained silent. The shadows went on murmuring in their non-intelligible, twisted tongues. Their leader hissed once, and they fell silent.

_"We want our freedom, Master."_it hissed, _"We no longer wish to remain prisoners to this Item or to you and your other half. It has been so long, and each of us has lost much of what made us human...to the dark powers of this Puzzle. Only you can set what remains of our souls free. Release us, and your sin will be forgiven. Release us, and you too shall go free."_

A twisted little human-shadow staggered on disproportionate limbs into the chamber. It came up behind the leader and muttered excitedly to its leader, but the tongue was so twisted Yami couldn't understand it.

And he didn't care to.

_"Set you free?"_ he sneered. "_And how can this be done? Even_I_am prisoner to this Puzzle! You dare hold me captive inside my own Soul Room and expect me to sympathize?"_

The abomination shadows screeched in anger. The leader's eyes were reduced to slits _"You belittle us. You find us too inhuman to be worthy of living. You think you are God!"_

_"Let me go.__**Now**__!"_ Yami roared, and his magic started to form again - all around his body this time, the black-purple energy expanding exponentially.

_"__**Mind Crush!**__"_

Shadow Magic exploded forward, ripping through the abominations' crowds, bouncing off walls and ripping through others. The sound roared deafeningly, and shrill, inhuman cries of fear and rage filled the chamber. The shackles binding him to the wall collapsed. He landed on his feet, arm spread forward steadily, ready to crush again for as many times as needed till he could leave this wretched place.

To his horror, the people-shadows reassembled around him again, more shrill and restless than before, but definitely unharmed.

_"We are the fuel that give the Items their power, Master. We are the very_source_of your Magic. You can try for all eternity, and you still would not do us any harm."_ the leader whispered, and straightened as much as its twisted spine would allow.

"_You have no intention of aiding your own people. Your are revolted by us. Your pride makes you see and acknowledge no one's desires but your own. But no matter...we will free ourselves by our own hands…with or_without_your consent. We have obtained the means. The key was right here, in your mind._

_"We will take your light's energy."_

Yami's enraged mind came to a screeching halt.

_"What?"_

_"The purity I felt in him when I saw your memories and found him in your heart...your light has enough energy to release us_all_from this prison! And his energy is utterly easy to absorb. Your fierce protectiveness only proves his worth. Yes...I can understand why you would want him untouched, untainted-"_

Yami's crimson eyes reflected his building rage, his promise of a vengeful, gruesome end._"If you as much as__**come near him-**__!"_

The floor evaporated from underneath his feet, and the vengeful shadows rushed forward and enveloped him, their eager cackles drowning his shout of surprise.

IIIIIIIIII

After moments of stifling darkness, and the sound of shadows racing through the air, Yami was dropped unceremoniously to the ground. The shadows lifted from him, and he found himself in the main reception that connected the door of his Soul Room to the corridor that separated his and Yuugi's minds.

He heard Yuugi's shout of terror somewhere above his head.

Yami scrambled off the floor and looked around wildly/Aibou?/

_"My people found him looking for you in the corridors above."_ came the leader's smug reply not far behind him.

His Aibou was in his Soul Room? Hadn't Yami warned him against going into his Soul Room's corridors without him? A shapeless bundle of shadows fell from above to the floor in front of him. Amidst the wildly swirling shadows, he saw his partner, suffocated by their dark, clingy tendrils like ants on a sugarcube. Yami's eyes widened in horror at the sight of his gentle light being enveloped by the half-human abominations.

He heard his light scream for him.

He was on his feet in a flash, and flew at the sadistic rebels when something pulled his legs from under him. He fell flat on his front and was dragged back across the floor. He roared in rage and fear and scrambled uselessly against the shadows pulling him.

_"We need his life energy to go free, Master"_ the leader said softly, as if explaining a problem to a child_."Then we will be gone, and you will never have to see us again."_

Yami's head snapped over his shoulder, his eyes wild and menacing._"Let him go now! He is not involved!"_

_"He's the other half of Master, is he not?"_

_"He has nothing to do with anything! He did not even know the Puzzle existed, or how it was created! Let him go, or I will destroy this Puzzle and everything in it!"_

_"You would go this far to protect him. He must be really priceless."_

/Aibou!/Yami tried to drag himself across the floor after his struggling partner was dragged across his Soul Room to the door. He pulled uselessly against the binds on his leg as he watched with large eyes a vine of shadow reach up to open the knob. The door creaked open easily, and Yuugi was dragged outside. The door slammed shut with a final resounding echo.

_"Master, don't pull so violently…you will rip your leg in t-"_

_"Where are you taking him? Where are they going?"_

He heard the sound of another door slamming shut. Yuugi's Soul Room.

_"His energy is strongest when he is in his own domain."_ the shadow explained simply. It released its hold on Yami and watched detachedly as he ran to his door and pulled the knob.

It wouldn't turn.

Yami whirled around at the rebel shadows' leader, _"Open the door. Open it or I will turn this whole wretched Puzzle into dust!"_

_"No. They are not done."_

Yuugi's scream pierced the air. The shadow watched, fascinated as the rationality fled Yami's eyes.

_"OPEN THIS ACCURSED DOOR!"_ he screeched.

_"Never. So do as you promised. Turn this Puzzle into dust. But if you do, it will be you who will have killed your other half.."_

Yuugi's light energy, naturally complimentary and harmonious with his darker half's, was being twisted out of shape and warped to the point that the harmony was disrupted. The very nature and imprint of his soul were changing, causing the link between him and Yami to disappear slowly but surely. Soon the hikari's screams were filling the world. Yami threw himself against his door, anguish shutting down all rational thought. His body seized as he felt something being slowly ripped across his soul. A void was opening up between him and his soul partner. Then the mindlink completely disappeared - went off like a light, and with it his partner's presence.

Yami cried out in terror, and scrambled for it. He delved into his mind to grab a hold of Yuugi's, but there was nothing. Like his partner never even existed. Just…cold emptiness.

/_Aibou! Aibou! AIBOU!/_his distressed screams stirred no sympathy in the wretched souls of the rebellious shadows absorbing his hikari's life energy. Their leader stood passively, waiting for its people to finish absorbing the Master's light half's energy before it too, can take its turn to collect the strength to leave this prison forever.

Yami staggered back from the door, and turned around to the people-shadows' leader. He took an unbalanced step, and then another, and another; his body heaving uselessly from his light's excruciating absence.

_"Give him to me."_ he begged _"Let him be - I will do anything."_

_"It is too late to do that, my Master"_ the leader sneered, _"I owe my people a chance at freedom. How can I part between bees, and a well of honey?"_

_"I will give my own energy – all of it if you want. But – let my partner__go!"_

_"You should have thought of your__**partner**__before you let your pride dictate you, Master."_

_"He does not hold responsibility for my decisions. Your vengeance should be on me and me only. Do whatever you wish to me, but –"_ he stopped dead at the sound of a faint gurgle. What remained of his self-control crumbled. The leader watched him fail miserably to control the sob that escaped his lips.

_"Don't - don't kill him-"_

_"Then beg for it, Pharaoh. Beg modestly for your partner's life."_

Yami fell to his knees, tears running down his face: _"Please.."_

_"On your knees AND hands, Pharaoh!"_

A last weak, dying cry from Yuugi was more than any yami could withstand from its hikari. He threw his hands on the floor, and bowed his head down in surrender.

_"Please!"_ he screamed. "_Spare my partner!"_

His Soul Room door burst open. The people-shadows swooped in, dragging a very still Yuugi by the leg across the floor behind them.

_"Here is your partner, Master, or what is left of him."_ Their leader pointed out blandly.

The shadows – more human-like now - dumped the lifeless hikari in front of his darkness and floated back outside. The leader watched as Yami, body still shuddering from unbalance, all but crawled to his hikari, looking down at his partner in dumb denial.

He leaned over Yuugi, and focused with all his might on transferring his energy into his partner. But the channel would not work. Yuugi's light energy was nearly completely gone, and whatever sliver of light still remaining in him was no longer complimentary with Yami's darkness.

"No…no please, Aibou. _Please -_"

_"..You cannot save him this way, Shadow Master. His light energy has been corrupted beyond your control. I feel…my people seem to have absorbed his energy too eagerly…they've forgotten to leave enough for me."_

Yami turned around, and the leader saw raw, near-insane grief.

_"We did not steal anything, Master. We merely wished to get our freedom back – our freedom that_ you _stole forever ago. And to prove we bear no ill-will…let me give you advice…take him to his Soul Room, where the very source of his light resides. It is your last chance."_

IIIIIIIIII

Yami's Soul Room door was pushed open, and out he came, stumbling into the corridor, carrying the motionless hikari. He staggered towards his partner's Soul Room door. Upon seeing it, he realized the extent of the damage done to his hikari.

"_No! No No NO_!" he clawed miserably at the battered, slowly-fading door which not only was closed, but had become a mere image-like projection on the wall, no longer 3 dimensional. He slid bonelessly to his knees, defeated, weeping and holding his partner close as if it would keep him too from disappearing after the door.

The rebel shadows' leader came up on his left. Regarding him for a moment, it spoke:_"Well…that's that."_ it said quietly, almost respectfully _"You would do yourself good not to drain your own energy trying uselessly to revive him, Master. Let me take him…"_

As the shadow moved in to claim the boy, the reaction was so violent, so sudden, that the shadow recoiled, its white eyes wide and confused.

Yami had his right arm outstretched, palm open, the eye of Horus burning furiously on his forehead. Shadow magic danced around him, serving as a barrier, as he held his still light close. His eyes showed no sentience.

_"Get out."_ the ex-pharaoh said hoarsely._"Leave me and my partner be. Y-"_ he wanted to say more, to curse them all to an eternity of insanity in the Shadow Realm, but words failed him. His body shuddered in tune with his heaving dark energy, and he buried his face in his partner's hair.

The leader threw its head back, and uttered a single, loud screech. The floor starting to shake, and Yami impulsively tightened his grip on Yuugi as the once miserably-twisted shadows started appearing in the corridor, all around the yami and their leader. They stood in a circle with straightened spines, more human than before, yet have been shadows for so long to ever truly return to their original states.

_"We can both reach an understanding now, my Master. I could ask anything of my people, and they would obey me without doubt._

_Do you want to save your light, Shadow Master?"_

Yuugi's soul was slowly fading in Yami's arms. He looked up with eyes brimming with terror at the leader of the people-shadows of an ancient people of an ancient village he could not remember.

_"Yes!"_

_"Do you__**really**__want to?"_

_"__**Yes! Yes!**__"_Yami's cried, voice desparate_"Stop doing this! You can have your goddamn freedom. Take whatever you want, but give back my partner's light!"_

_"Will you give up some of the power bestowed upon you by the Puzzle to set us free?"_

_"I will!"_

_"You influence over the Realm of Shadows will forever be weaker-"_

_"__**I accept!"**_

The leader reached Yami, and extended its shadowed hand. It rested atop Yami's head. Distrustful crimson orbs he looked up at the featureless face.

_"It will not hurt. Your energy is supplied by the Puzzle, and the Puzzle's power originates from us."_

Yami could already feel the slick, uncomfortable feeling of his Shadow Magic being pulled out of his body. His closed his eyes against the disturbance, and held Yuugi close for comfort. The feeling did not last long, however, and soon the hand left his head, and his remaining Magic shrank back into his head to assume its normal distribution in his system.

_"All of you! Return the Pharaoh's light's energy!"_

All the shadows started murmuring, chanting, and silvery tendrils seeped out through the folds of their dark beings and moved eagerly into their rightful owner.

"Aibou?" Yami whispered urgently, watching him closely.

_"He will take some time to regain consciousness."_

As the shadows returned the light they stole, their shapes turned more distorted, and their chanting incomprehensible. Their leader – now his human shape much more distinct but still enveloped in shadows - moved among them, placing his hand on each shadow's head, and injecting them with the Shadow Energy he had absorbed.

Yami hardly noticed or cared. He could feel his link with his partner slowly re-establish itself, and warmth so familiar – so _natural_ – was reassuming its soothing cover over his soul, balancing it. His darkness rejoiced, and the unbearable, gaping hole of pain in his chest started to slowly shrink. His body gradually ceased its shuddering.

He looked up eagerly at the door, and found that it too had started to re-materialize. The doorknob slowly protruded from the wall. He stood up hurriedly, carrying his partner in one arm and grabbed the knob with the other.

_"Wait!"_ came the leader's voice. Yami whirled around, angry _"Give it time to completely reconstruct. It is very dangerous to try and interrupt a light healing itself.."_

The shadows - satisfied, started to disappear. They went up like curls of smoke, disappearing up into the dark heights of the invisible ceiling of the Millennium Puzzle.

The leader was the last to go.

"Thank you, Master." he said simply, like nothing at all happened. Yami did not expect the quiet, merry laugh that followed. In moments, the leader of the rebels too, had vanished.

IIIIIIIIII

Yami pulled Yuugi's door open and went inside. Toys and stuffed animals littered the floor. Balloons floated happily to the ceiling. The colors were dimmer than normal, but regaining richness. Making sure not to step on anything, he made his way across to the little bed at the far wall of the room and laid his light down gently. Yuugi let out a soundless, exhausted sigh, but did not wake.

Yami looked around, and starting picking up as many toys as he could - for each one was a factor contributing to his light's energy and personality, off the floor. He carried them to the bed, and arranged them all around his partner, till he was surrounded by the games, stuffed animals and duel monsters. Yuugi turned his head slightly towards his yami, as if he felt him standing next to him, but his eyes remained closed.

A yami, however, is sensitive to its light's emotions. Despite his partner's weakness and exhaustion, he received a faint, transparent message that was more an emotion than an actual word.

/Stay.../

- End


End file.
